George christian smith



e. 0. SMITH.

APPARATUS FOR.H0|STING AND LOWERING BOATS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 17. I918- 1,310,717. Patented July 22,1919.

Inv-enfiar 4 C. Sma'fih. By M GEORGE CHRISTIAN SMITH, or eorrmvnoae, SWEDEN.

' APPARATUs FOR-.HOISTING AND LOWERING BOATS.

7 Specification of Letters r am. t nte July 22,1919,

Application filed September 17, 1918. SerialNo. 254,492.

Lowering Boats, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to such davits for ships lifeboats, which comprises a swinging davit arm arranged to be swung out over the ships side when in position to launch the boat. More particularly this invention refers to the said classof clavits,where the boat is suspended in such a way, thatiit will be caused to descendinto the water by the influence or" the gravity, as soon as the swinging davit arm is released from the parts, which secure the armand the boat in the normal position upon deck, and where the lines, which serve to launch and to hoist the boat, are operated by meansofa capstan -or a winch. In boat hoisting and-lowering apparatus of this classit occurs, that, if-the ship stands in an inclined position, the boat on the weather side cannot be swung out freely, because'the load set upon-thedavit arm by the weight of the boat takes in such a direction relative to the inclined davit stanchions, that it prevents the automat-ical lowering force on the davitarm.

This invention has for its-object to remove this objection and to provide means for swinging out-the davit arms'with the boat even on the weather side of arather much inclined deck. The invention is characterized by a rope, operated by the ordinary capstan or winch by means of suitable devices and carried over to the boat, where it engages the boat on that side, which, when the boat stands in position, is directed inward to the middle of the ship, whereby the said rope passes over pulleys or blocks in such a way, that, when a pull is set up in the rope by means of the winch or capstan, the rope will cause the boat to be moved outwardly over the ships side, in consequence causing the clavit arms to swing out in position for launching the boat. The parts of the winch or capstan, which operate the rope mentioned, must be connected to the driving shaft of the winch in a. detachable manner, so that they can be coupled to or uncoupled from the winch in any arbitrary moments just as wanted, in such a manner as to prevent the ordinary opera- ,1

tion of the winch when launching or hoisting the boat. Further the connection between-the boat and the rope in question must also be detachable for the'purpose of readily releasing the rope from the boat, when theboat is lowered down .into the water.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 illustrates an end elevational view of the device, showing theboat on the weather side of an inclined ship with the ti:

.boat in safe position on deck.

Fig. 2 illustrates the sameiparts vwith the boat innpositionfor launching, whereby the boat is shown in two stages of operation, the upper full drawn position indicating the boat ready to 'be launched and the lower dotand-dash drawn position, indicating the boat when already lowered a little.

Fig. 3demonstrates in a decreased scale a deck view, showing the methodo'f arranging the rope and boat lines.

In the drawing the boat is designated with 1, the swinging davit arms with 2, and 3 is the boat supporting line, carried down on to the drums at and 5 on the capstan shaft 6, whereby the said lines pass over pulleys or blocks on stanchion's 7, which are fixed in a stationary position on the ships deck 8. A rope or chain!) isby means of a hook 10 or similar device "in a detachable manner attached to a inemberl? car-rled by the inner boat is launched (see the dot-and-dash line figures in Fig. By means of a pulley or block 11 near the ships side 18 the rope 9 is guided along the deck 8 on to a sheave or drum 12, arranged so as to be temporarily engaged with the capstan shaft 6 by means of a clutch and lever 13 operated by the foot.

The boat supporting lines 3 pass from the drums i and 5 respectively to the end of the boat over pulleys or blocks 15, 16.

Vhen launching the boat on the weather side the sheave 12 is by means of the foot operated clutch coupled to the capstan shaft 6, and the capstan is caused to revolve by means of ordinary gears such as a wheel actuated worm gear or similar devices not shown in the drawing The pull thus set up in the rope 9 will force the boat outwardly, which will be clearly understood when examining the manner, in which the rope 9 is guided from the sheave 12 around site direction to the rope 9 upon the sheave 12, so that the lines 3 are caused to unwind their drums, when the rope 9 1S wound upon its sheave 12. i

As soon as the boat has reached the full drawn position in Fig. 2, the clutch 13 is released, whereby the sheave 12 will be disengaged from the shaft 6, and the gravity causes the'boat to descend along the ships side 18. In this moment the book 10 slips off from the boat 1, and the boat will be launched without obstacle.

Though the invention has been described ,as illustratedin the drawing, it must be observed, that I do not want to limit myself to this special embodiment, and I wish to be free to vary. the single parts in any convenient manner without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention; c

Having thus described my said invention, what I clannas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. I11 an apparatus for hoisting and lowering boats, in combination, outwardly and downwardly swinging davit arms, lines operating upon the davit arms, a boat adapted to be suspended from the arms and the lines,

operating means with-which the lines are connected to operate in one direction, a flexible, member operably connected with the operating means but operating thereabout in a direction opposite to the lines, and said flexible member being designed for detachable connection with the boat and arranged so as toswing the arms and boat outwardly .upon the actuation of the operating means.

Copies of this patentmay be Vobtainerl for 2. In an apparatus forhoisting and Lower- 111g boats, in comblnation, outwardly and downwardly swinging davit arms, lines operating upon the arms, a boat adapted to be suspended fronrthe arms and the lines,

operating means with which the lines are connected to operate in one direction, a'flexi- "-ble member, a sheave above which one portion of the flexible member is wound, coacting detachable fastening members on the boat and flexible member, means fortempo rarily connecting the sheave to theoperating means, and the flexible member being arranged to causeanoutward swingingof the arms upon the actuation of the operating Vmeans. I

3. In an apparatus for hoisting and lowering beats, a rotatable shaft, drums rigidly connected thereto, outwardly and down- 7 'wardly swinging davit arms, lines operating upon the arms and connected to and windable about the drums, a'boat adapted to be suspended from thelines and the arms, a

sheave loose onthe shaft, a flexible member having one portion wound about the sheave, coacting detachable fastening members on the boat and the outer endof the flex ble member, means for temporarily connecting the sheave to one of the drums, and the flexible member bein trained to a .1 oint on r the deck of the vessel outsidejiof the mounting point of the arms to cause an outward swinging of the arms upon the actuation of the shaft and during the temporary engage v ment of the sheave with the drum.'

In testimony whereof I have aiiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. GEORGE CHRISTIAN s ITH.

, Witnesses: V I V ALEX F ReUsoN, G. Osonn OLssoN.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner o f'Patents' Washington, D. G. 

